FIFTY-THREE

Time in a Bottle

ItwastimetoleaveEgypt.Schuylerhadpackedherbagsand was on her way to the airport once again. She could not stop thinking of Jack, but she had to be strong—it was all on her shoulders now. The demons were at the gates. She had to do her part, carry on the Van Alen Legacy, and find the true Gate of Promise.

At the terminal she bumped into a familiar face. “Ollie?”

“Sky?”

“Ollie!” She laughed and embraced him. “We’ve got to stop meeting in airports.”

He kissed her cheek but saw that under the smile her face was drawn with the deepest sorrow. “Where’s Jack?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s just me now. I’ll tell you later, okay?”

He nodded, not wanting to pry and not letting his heart hope. He would be there for her as a friend.

“What are you doing in Egypt?” she asked.

“Same as you, I think. We just came from the underworld.”

“Who’s we?” Then she realized. Mimi. Of course. That’s why she was here. Jack had said he was going to meet her in the Sahara.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when we get to the lounge,”

Oliver promised. “What about you?”

“Let’s grab a coffee and we’ll fill each other in,” she said.

Schuyler told him what she had learned so far of her legacy, and Catherine of Siena’s secret about the bifurcated path. “The Gate of Promise is a path to Paradise.”

“Of course.” Oliver nodded. “No wonder it was so hard to find.”

“It’s why Michael put up the gates instead of destroying the paths. Because he suspected that one of them could lead back to Heaven,” Schuyler said. Everything had clicked into place. She felt goose bumps forming on her arms as the enormity of the true task her mother had set before her sank in.

Oliver looked awed, and for a moment neither of them said anything. Finally, Schuyler broke their reverie. “Where are you headed?” she asked him.

“Back to New York,” Oliver said. “I need to make sure my family is okay.”

“What’s happened?”

“You haven’t heard? The Coven’s gone under, and even the Conduits aren’t safe. Everything and everyone associated with the vampires is being targeted.”

“Your parents?”

“Safe for now, but they want me to join them in hiding.”